His Mission
by SeEmYaWeSoMeNeSs
Summary: Orihime would never forget what it felt like to hold Ulquiorra's hand. Even though she never would again. U l q u i H i m e
1. Chapter One

**Okay, this is a very short story that wouldn't leave me alone. Really, I should be working on my other stories but I'm stuck with both of them.**

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Ulquiorra shut the door on the unhappy girl and stepped back. She had handled leaving well, though he had noticed her red eyes. It wasn't that he hadn't expected her to cry, from what he had heard human females were unnecessarily emotional, it was that she had stopped herself before he came that made him reconsider her discipline.

When she had healed Grimmjow, the fact she had kept up this mask was enough to make him reevaluate the human, though her surprise when the Espada member killed Luppi brought her impractical empathy to light.

He reported to Aizen what he needed to know and bowed, "…and I believe your tactics have successfully trapped the girl. Soon, she will think it was her fault for coming here. Anything else you need, Aizen-sama?"

Information transmitted, he awaited orders to leave.

Aizen, however, had other instructions for him. "Don't you think, Ulquiorra, that it would be nice to have the girl's loyalty completely secure?" He didn't ask what his lord meant, instead gave a small nod as was expected. "Now… How do you think we could be get this?" He knew better than to answer, for that was not what the man wanted, he instead awaited what else Aizen would say. "Why, someone could seduce her."

He realized then Aizen expected an answer. And he also realized no would not be allowed. He was unable to speak for a moment, disgusted by the notion of having to allow the girl to get closer to him; all thoughts on her strength vanished quickly. "Yes, Aizen-sama."

The shinigami's smile grew, "Was that an offer?" A small nod satisfied his upper, "Wonderful! Now, go on, you shouldn't waste too much time!" Ulquiorra knew better than to express anything other than obedience and left the room. Aizen's wishes must be obeyed.


	2. Chapter Two

i.  
He opened the door just as the girl pulled her hair out from the collar of her new outfit. "It suits you." The compliment backfired when she whirled around, eyes wide and cheeks red.

It seemed that his first attempt failed. He would have to try a different approach.

He didn't even realize he had fallen back into his cold personality. He didn't notice that this seemed to ease the girl's earlier horror. As he harshly told her the truth, she took it and accepted, once again surprising him with her strength.

His mission was almost forgotten until the idiotic Nnoitra reminded him with his perverse comments. An undertone of disgust and rage settled in and he resisted the urge to kill the lower.

ii.  
She also reacted terribly to his attempt at a gift, looking utterly mortified when he tried to hand her a flower. He continued to hold it out to her as she gaped, stumbling back. "Ul-Ulquiorra-san, it's a rose."

Annoyed, he growled, "Yes. Take it."

She seemed to collect herself and, still with a faint blush, accepted it. Quietly, he heard her mutter something along the lines of, "A red rose… He can't know what it means." He narrowed his eyes but refused to clarify. He knew that human males used them to court human females and that, normally, the flower had some sort of sentimental value.

Which made absolutely no sense to him. It was a dead plant.

He left her with a deeper frown than usual. He would have to find another tactic. He tried to collect, in his vast knowledge, what else human males did for a female. Chocolates. He refused to make an even bigger fool of himself—What if she didn't even _like_ it? It would be a waste of time.

iii.  
Finding something that would win her over was proving harder than he thought. He had gone and gotten the chocolates and the reaction was even worse than the roses.

He had known she would do that. Which was why he hadn't wanted to do so in the first place.

So, he did something even worse than get chocolates. He went to the human realm to study a bunch of trash court each other. All the romanticized feelings, talk of the heart, and illogical nonsense made him feel sick and he left sooner than he had planned but with enough knowledge to try another pursuit.

iv.

"Here." She looked at him with donning horror, a look she had begun to wear around him whenever he visited.

She took a shaky breath and asked, "A… A puppy?" He glared at the squirming animal. Was that what it was? He hadn't asked, just taken the horrendously cute creature and put on the equally horrendous ribbon. "I… Why?"

He refused to answer the question. Telling her the truth would ruin the effect, lying would destroy his pride. "If you don't want it, I'll take it back."

She hesitated before reaching out and taking the whimpering creature. It licked her on the face and he clenched his jaw. How could humans _stand_ such disgusting things? He waited a moment more, testing her reaction further, before turning to leave. "Th-Thank you."

The same response. He scowled and closed the door after growling, "I'll bring its food with yours."

v.  
Next, he brought her jewelry.

Worst reaction of them all.

She had actually let out a shriek of surprise and he could see her bite down the rest of it as she stared. He had thought her to be one who enjoyed simple things so he had picked up a necklace with only one gem—a black diamond.

"Did Aizen-sama get that for me?" She managed, a gleam of hope in her eyes.

He thought of letting her think that before cancelling it. Lying for his pride and about Aizen was not acceptable. "No." She looked over at the puppy and then at the rose and then at the unopened box before looking back at the necklace. "I did."

Her lip quivered, "I-I see." He didn't move his arm back, "I… can't accept it. It must've been expensive."

He glared down at her, "Money is meaningless."

Her blush darkened though the reason for it escaped him and she quietly took it. He left but heard her soft, "Maybe… He _does_ know what they mean. They just keep getting…" he strained to hear the last words, "more romantic."

She was just now realizing his advances? Even though it was only a mission, he found his pride wounded by the rejection. What a foolish thing, to let a human get to him. He wondered if any other human woman would've been as dense. He no longer wished to think about it, so disgusted was he by the notion of having to court trash.

vi.  
He found himself wondering about the girl's hobbies. If he understood what she liked, it would be easier to win her over and claim her affection. His mission would then be complete and he wouldn't have to explain to Aizen that he had failed yet again.

He wouldn't have to deal with another blow of rejection.

He clenched his fist, remembering his earlier meeting with her. He hadn't even been trying, simply giving her food, and she had given him the look of horror. Her friends had finally appeared, his time was running out, and he had told her.

She had obviously taken it to be some loyalty _to her_ being the reason behind him revealing to her this information. He had forced himself not to correct her, instead he chose to remain silent.

vii.  
He found another way to try and win her over. She enjoyed cooking, he could take her down to the kitchens and let her cook, earning trust. When he offered, she was reluctant to agree. "Won't you get in trouble with Aizen-sama?"

He had paused then, letting her know he hadn't asked. If he explained his reasoning later, however, he knew Aizen would agree. "I will take any punishment Aizen-sama sees fit to use."

"I don't think I… want you to do that."

He narrowed his eyes and grabbed her wrist, "I've had enough rejections." He hissed, unable to keep out the venom in his voice and opened a garganta. The shocked girl was pulled in with him, her puppy letting out annoying barks and lunging.

They got through before the fluffy creature made it in.

iix.  
"You're letting me cook?" He nodded again, refusing to meet her eyes in case he saw her horror. After another couple minutes of her just standing there, she looked around and found everything she needed.

As she cooked, he watched her relax and smile. She was genuinely happy in this overly warm place and he leaned against the wall, hands in pocket. He found his pride returning. He had finally managed to get something right with the girl.

She was laughing at the end, throwing ingredients every which way and making foods he was sure normal humans didn't eat. When they had to leave, he almost regretted it with the small frown that marred her face.

Both of them caught themselves however. He stopped it, clamping down on all thoughts other than obeying Aizen and she forced a look of peace to settle over her features.

ix.  
Cooking became a daily occurrence. She made her own dinner, then started making her own lunch, then began to make her own breakfast. Then she started offering him food.

He forced it down, ignoring the taste, just to keep her satisfied. If he lost the little affection he had gained, he would go on rampage and Aizen _would_ punish him. He hadn't been surprised when the woman's group had to leave to keep the black-haired shinigami alive.

He was rather smug, however, about the fact Soul Society still couldn't be involved since they had no proof about whether or not the girl had gone traitor.

x.  
"Come on, Ulquiorra-san! He likes you!" He glared down at the puppy and, inwardly, focused on how she was opening up more. "Please?"

He wondered if he'd lose trust by refusing her. He knew that if he killed the furry ball of hyperactivity he would and that was the only thing keeping him back. "Fine."With a scowl, he reached forward and placed his hand on it.

The reaction was just as terrible as he imagined. It attacked his hand with licks and happy yelps, jumping on to his lap with new trust.

One good thing and he had trust.

For some reason, this made his stomach twist.


	3. Chapter Three

xi.  
He realized he had to do something quickly to grab her heart.

Heart. When had he started using that word?

He didn't think deeper on it, he instead tried not to think about her friends. They had returned, they were gaining quickly. He would lose her to them, fail Aizen's mission. He wasn't about to let that happen.

So, he decided to take extreme measures.

xii.  
"Come, woman."

She blinked and met his eyes, "Why don't you ever call me by my name?" He was partially relieved she could be so informal and mostly annoyed she questioned him.

"Would you prefer I called you by your name, Orihime Inoue?" Her cheeks burned and she nodded, "Very well. Come." She opened her mouth to ask and he clamped his hand over it to silence her, "No. You'll see when we get there."

She fell silent and, instead of holding her at an arm's length like the last time he had used garganta with her, he made sure to keep her closer. Why? He wasn't sure, perhaps to keep the cold from affecting her.

xiii.  
He let go of her and moved back, "Open your eyes."

She did and gasped.

He wasn't sure if he had picked a good location or even if it was too simple. In fact, he wasn't quite sure why he picked the area other than the fact it was where they had met. _Not_ that it had any sentimental value for him, it was just a place he knew.

She seemed to like it though. He was surprised by her hug, it was tighter than he thought possible for her, but allowed himself a moment to relax into it. "We'll return." She nodded, tears swimming in her eyes. Was she upset? He wanted to comfort her but at the same time knew he wouldn't. "They'll sense me soon."

She sniffed and, voice thick, said, "Yeah. We should go." He decided then he didn't want her to suffer and offered to return. She shook her head, "No. I'm just glad you let me come."

Her attempt at a smile made his chest ache with a pain he couldn't remember ever feeling before.

xiv.  
He found himself wanting to chase away Orihime's friends instead of killing them. She was making him soft. Continue the mission and risk losing… What was he losing? He couldn't think too deeply, something kept him from it. He wasn't sure what it was but if he looked too deeply into his relationship with Orihime, something would change.

What? He wasn't sure.

xv.  
He was frustrated with Orihime as she continuously tried to explain the boy wasn't dead. She called him Chad and the puppy whimpered, sensing her distress just as easily as he did.

He explained to her, not hearing the coldness in his voice nor the cruelty of the words, that he wasn't going to tell her otherwise. Her slap startled him more than hurt but something in his chest, the same feeling he had felt when he saw her sad smile, was more painful than physical discomfort.

Her sobs made his insides twist. Remorse was what he felt and he didn't try to stop it. He deserved to feel this. He was failing his mission, failing Aizen.

What was worse, however, was that he was failing her.

xvi.  
He went to fight Ichigo, forgetting to take Orihime to the kitchens for both breakfast and lunch. She loved the boy. Why?

Why did he even care?

xvii.  
Returning to find her gone brought another feeling he wasn't sure about. He understood the rage and knew he wanted to find her as soon as possible… But behind that was also something else. His stomach dropped and he felt cold. And he didn't just want to find her, he _needed_ to find her.

It got worse when he was told Grimmjow had taken her.

He moved faster than he ever had in his life, focusing so intently onto the blue-haired idiot's spiritual pressure, he had to keep back his own flare of emotions. Emotions he shouldn't have. What was that damn girl doing to him?

Orhime. She'd better be okay.

xviii.  
He had thought it was painful to see her cry, to have her slap him.

It was twenty times worse to see her there, healing the boy he had just killed.

How could she do that? How could he let her get so close? When had she gotten so close?

_How close was she?_

He was sloppy in his fight, unable to concentrate, and Grimmow got him. The cold, dark place he was in was nothing. Torture? This was nothing. It was cold, empty. It was what he needed. In the cold, he could realize his mistakes.

He would not let Kurosaki take her away.

xix.  
He found her again and the cruel words poured out. He was unable to stop them.

With each word, the pain in his chest lessened and that was better. He could think more without it. Realize more. He demanded she tell him of the heart, that foolish thing she relied on so much. How could she remain loyal to her friends even now? How could she continue to believe in them? How could she betray him?

Was that what he felt? Betrayed?

xx.  
That boy, Kurosaki, he would kill him. He would kill him again but this time he would make sure he remained dead. It was his fault. She had betrayed him for the trash.

Her tears meant nothing anymore. They were because of the trash. They were because the idiot had come to bring her back, to take her from him. It was no longer his mission to keep her here, not from Aizen, but it was something he had to do. He made sure she was there to see him die. Her screams tore at his insides but he ignored it.

Kurosaki. He deserved it. They all deserved it.

Ulquiorra couldn't let her go.

xxi.  
It wasn't the boy that came back, he was sure of it. No human could become _that_. The monster that stood in front of him flared with as much spiritual pressure as himself, as much power, as much agony. No, he was even stronger. "Who are you?"

Besides, he had killed the boy. He had killed the boy _twice_.

He couldn't have come back.

The boy's sword flew to him and Orihime almost fell. The creature would die. "Didn't you hear me? I said who are you?"

The monster answered with a roar.

xxii.  
The power of the beast was so much more than his own. Even he recognized that. But he would still fight. Even as he healed his arm and told the monster he couldn't lose he knew that he'd only win by using his higher intelligence.

It was now a fight for survival. One mistake and death would be the punishment.

xxiii.  
He caught Ulquiorra's attack, the monster. He caught and sliced right through him.

He had lost.

He would die from the damage.

It was ridiculous, impossible. How could that thing kill him?

He was ready to die, to let the thing kill him quickly. He wanted it over with. His mission had failed, he had failed at bringing her back, he had failed in the fight. There was nothing left for him.

xxiv.  
The pain was excruciating. It seemed all was lost with the monster as it threw him around. The foolish Quincy tried to save him. Such a foolish boy, didn't he see it was useless? He waited for death but Orihime's scream reminded him of something.

This monster… Would he still hurt her? He had to take him down.

Then, it spoke. It's words, it's horrible words, shocked him. Shocked and disgusted him. He would stop it. He would stop the damn thing before it killed her friend just because of how twisted it was.

How dare that thing even say it was helping her! Were her screams not obvious? Were her tears not proof enough that he was hurting her?

He didn't even recognize the irony of his thoughts as he cut through the thing's horn.

xxv.  
Even when he saved her, she still cried out for the boy.


	4. Chapter Four

Ulquiorra wasn't surprised when he started to dissolve; he was instead surprised by how the Kurosaki boy reacted. An idealist. An idealist that refused to kill him even though that was his last request.

When the boy tried to be kind it seemed like he was only ten times as merciless.

He had one last question to ask Orihime. He reached towards her, silently wishing for her to get closer. He needed to feel her warmth again, for some reason he felt as if this would make up for her betrayal. Why, though, was the question he needed answered. Why did he care so much?

Instead, he asked her something else. "Are you scared of me, girl?"

Not her name. He no longer had the right to use it.

It took her a moment to answer, her eyes swimming with tears that weren't quite spilling over. She wouldn't cry for him, that he knew. He wasn't Kurosaki. "I'm not scared."

"I see."

And suddenly he did. What she meant to him. She had managed to give him something almost as impossible as the Kurosaki's three revivals. She had given him a heart.

Their fingers didn't brush but by then he had forgiven her. It was love he felt for her. A word humans threw around, a word he had filed away as nonsense… He wished he could be surprised at the irony. In trying to succeed in earning her love, he had fallen for her.

But Orihime loved another.

As everything faded, he thought he could hear her voice. Faint and beautiful it rang out... The only word he could understand was 'reject.'

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**I'm letting ya'll choose how it ends. ^^**

**By the way, if you've read this far, you should review. Please and thank you.  
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